Kidnapping rapist or consensual partner? 2 versions of accused clash as cold-case trial closes

Wayne Bernard,the kidnapping rapist,or Wayne Bernard, the locksmith who had consensual sex in a van with his smoking buddy: those are the two versions of the accusedjurors were left withafter closing arguments in a 22-year-old cold case rape trial.

Bernard, 55, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault with a weapon and robbery. He testified in his own defence at the trial in Calgary on Monday, telling the jury he and Maureen who worked in the same strip of shops became friends over cigarette breaks out back.

• 22 years after rape, victim's handwritten account read aloud at trial

Maureen is the victim in this case and can not be identified by her real name. She died a decade ago, never knowing charges were laid in her case. Her 16-page handwritten statement to police was read aloud on the first day of trial.

On March 28, 1995, Maureen was kidnapped, driven to the outskirts of Calgary and raped in the same van.

Afterwards, her rapist shoved her outside and Maureen was able to flag down a passing couple who pulled over, collected the frantic woman and called 911 before driving her home.

Cold case break

Nearly two decades later, a cold case detective would get a match from the rape kit to Bernard's DNA. Bernard testified on Monday that he and Maureen had consensual sex in the van earlier in the night.

Crown prosecutor PamMcCluskeytold jurors not to believe his story.

"[Maureen] didn't have a fling in the back alley with her good friend Wayne Bernard," saidMcCluskeyin her closing statement. "She didn't know Wayne Bernard."

• Accused rapist in 22-year-old cold case trial testifies sex was consensual

If the two were friends, McCluskey argued Bernard would have shown concern or at least curiosity after returning to his workplace the morning after he and Maureen had sex to discover police tape surrounding the catering shop where she worked.

On top of that, when the doctor who testified last week examined Maureen all those years ago, she pored over every inch of the 51-year-old's body, using a special light, searching for hairs, fibres, semen.If Maureen had sex the same day she was raped, McCluskey told jurors she would have told the doctor.

Jury to begin deliberating Wednesday

Defence lawyer Rebecca Snukal pointed jurors to evidence she says should lead to Bernard's acquittal.
Maureen's description of her attacker did not match Bernard, nor does the fact she told police her rapist had an accent and Bernard does not.

"It should be obvious that he is not the attacker," Snukal told jurors.

The fact Bernard continued to work at the locksmith company so close to his alleged victim's place of employment should also be viewed as evidence of his innocence, she said.

On Wednesday morning, jurors will hear final instructions on how to apply the law during their deliberations and will then be sequestered until a verdict is reached.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Good deed rewarded with assault and carjacking in Red Deer, say police
• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Knife-in-the-back gesture at Calgary city council could derail effort to get women to run, advocates say